Book Review ? Twitter Your Business by Mark Shaw

I?ll admit to initially being a little sceptical about Mark Shaw?s book, ?Twitter Your Business ? a beginner?s guide to using Twitter to successfully promote you and your business?. As an experienced Twitter user, I considered myself beyond a set of instructions aimed at beginners.

However, I paid my £10 yesterday for the digital version because I was curious to see what Mark had to say.

Twitter Your Business is a short book. It took me around an hour to read, including dipping into several websites that Mark recommends. When I first skimmed through, I questioned whether it was worth £10.

However, I was surprised to discover, in the first few pages, an explanation of a Twitter function that I hadn?t previously noticed and which will change the way I send some messages in the future.

One of the challenges facing newcomers to Twitter is how to use it effectively. It?s ridiculously simple compared to systems such as Facebook. This means that the responsibility for getting results is handed squarely to the user, which can be a daunting prospect.

While the first part of Mark?s book covers the practical details of setting up and using Twitter, the rest focuses on how to get the best from it. His advice on performing a 20 minute daily workout and the different styles of tweeting are invaluable.

I found the case studies, of real businesses using Twitter, to be wonderful highlights. I challenge anyone to read Steve Clarke?s tale on p54 and not be inspired to get more from their social networking.

There are one or two oversights in the book. The section on hashtags could give the novice the impression that there?s a special process for creating one, which of course there isn?t. There?s also no mention of social media monitoring tools, other than Twitter search.

It would be a shame if everyone used Twitter in exactly the same way. Thankfully Mark doesn?t encourage that. He gets the balance right between advising on how to use Twitter well without directing the reader into a rigid formula.

I recommend Twitter Your Business to anyone wanting to understand how to use Twitter, whether they?re an absolute novice or have already dabbled and are struggling to see how it can add value to what they do.